Lounge



(No Model.)

H. KERN;

No. 514,830. Patente'eb. 13. 1894.

i UNITED STATE-s PATENT' OFFICE.

l-IENRY KERN, OF CAMBRIDGE, MLASSACHUSETTS.

LOUNGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,830, dated February 13, 1894.

Aplmtion fiiea August 26,1892. seminarium; oromoaei.)

To al whom it may' concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY KERN, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of Cambridge, in the' county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lounges, Ohairs, &c., of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements i'n lounges, chairs, &c., and has for its object to provide them with simple, convenient and l novel means whereby their arms or backs may I lounge.

On the drawings, Figure 1 represents a'front elevation `of a lounge, provided with my improvements'. Fig. 2 represents abottom View of the same, partly in section. Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal section on the line A--Bl shown in Fig. 2. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 represent detail views of the spring which automatically raises the arm' to its upper position, and showing the means employed to vary the tension or strength of said spring.

Similar letters refer to similar parts wher- V ever they occur on the different parts of the drawings.

a represents the body, and a' the arm of a lounge. The arm is hinged at a2 to the body, so as to allow it to be turned on its hinges, to vary its inclination relative to the seat. To the arm are attached the segmental braces b b which slide within the boxes c cattached to the inside of the frame of the bodyl of the lounge, said braces being provided with a number of perforations b' b' to receive pins or bolts d d' which are moved within bearings in the boxes c c, and each enters one of these perforations in its respective brace to lock the brace firmly in its proper position to retain the arm at the desired inclination.

.The mechanism employed to operate the bolts d d' is preferably constructed as follows: A rod e is movable in and out within bearings e' e' in the framework of the lounge, and it projects through the front thereof where it is provided with a knob or button, 62. The rod e is normally held in its outer position by means of a spring 83 attached thereto, and to' the frame of the lounge as fully shown in Fig. 2. The bolt d being rigidly attached to or made in one piece with the rod e is therefore moved in its bearings by the movements of the rod. The bolt d' is pivotally attached to the end of the lever f which is fulcrumed at f' tofthe framework of the lounge, and is forked at the end 'as shown at f2 in Fig. 2. A pin or projection 84 on the rod e enters the fork in the end of the lever f and turns said lever on its fulcrum 'when the rod is moved in or out in its bearings iu the frame of the lounge, in order to move the bolt d in its bearings to lock or unlock the brace b with which it engages. It will be seen that when the rod is pressed inward against the infiuence of the spring 83 the bolts d and cl' Will be withdrawn from the perforations b' b' in the braces b b Within which they have rested, allowing the arm to be raised or lowered to suit the wishes of the person occupying the-lounge, also that when the pressure is removed from the rod e the spring e3 will force the rod outward and tend to press the bolts into the perforations `in the braces b b, which may be in a line with the movement of said bolts and again lock the arm. A shaft g is mounted in bearings g' g' attached to the frame of the lounge, which shaft is provided with means, preferably a square portion. 92 substantially as shown, in order to turn said shaft in its bearagainst the under side of the arm a' tendingv to raise the arm. The tendency of the spring IOO h is to turn the shaft in its bearings, but it is prevented from doing so by means of a pin g4 inserted through a perforation in the bearing g' and one of the perforations 9595 in the shaft g as fully shown in Fig. 5. A number of perforations, Q5 95 are made at various angles through the shaft g, and it will be seen that the shaft is not only prevented from turning in its bearings, but that the tension or strength of the spring h may be varied by turning the shaft in its bearings with a Wrench and inserting the pin 94 through different perforations 95 95 as may be required. Both bearings g' g' may be perforated to receive the pin g'* and the shaft be provided With perforations to coincide with the perforations in both bearings, but no two perforations in the shaft to be at the same angle; thus the strength of the spring h may be more finely adj usted.

The use of perforations in the braces in combination with pins or bolts makes a more secure fastening for the arms than is made by means of ratchet teeth on the braoes, and a pawl to engage said teeth, and it is less noisy in its operation.

The operation of my improved lounge is as follows: If a person oocupying the lounge finds that the arm is too low to be comfortable to him, he presses the button 82 inward without removing from the lounge, and raises his body to the inclination desired, and the arm is automatically raised with his body by means of the spring h to a corresponding incline. He then removes the pressure from the button and allows the spring 63 to force the bolts d d' into the proper perforations in the braces to lock the arm at this inelination. Again, if he finds that the arm is too high he unlocks it as above described, allowing it to be pressed downward against the influence of the spring h by the weight of his body and again locked in that position by removing the pressure from the button e'tas abovedescribed.

It will be obvious to any person that my invention is applicable to chairs and sofas if so desired, 'and I do not wish to confine myself to its use for any particular article of furniture.

I'Iaving thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation of my invention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim-- In a lounge, chair, the., the combination with the body a, the arm or back a' hinged thereto, the perforated braces b attached to the arm or back, boxes attached to the body to guide the braces, of the rod e movable longitudinally Within bearings on the body to unlock the arm or back by an inward pressure thereon, the pin or bolt d rigidly attached to the rod, movable within a bearing in one of the boxes and engaging one of the braces, the pin or bolt d' movable within a bearing in the other box and engaging the other brace, said pins or bolts looking the arm or back in its adjusted position in relation to the body, the intermediate lever conneoting the pin or bolt d with the rod e, the spring 83 attached to the rod and the body, theinfluence of which is to force the rod outward and to hold the pins or bolts in engagement with the braces, the shaft g, bearings g', g', for the shaft on the body, the spring h coiled around the shaft, having its loop held by a projection on the shaft, and free ends resting against the arm or back to hold the same in its upper position, perforations in the bearings g', g', and in the shaft g, at various angles, those in the bearings to be brought to coincide with those in the shaft, and a pin g4 to enter the perforations in the bearings and the shaft, whereby the tension of the spring maybeincreased or diminished according to the perforations in the shaft into which the pin is placed, substantially as described.

In testimony Whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subsoribing Witnesses, on this 16th day of August, A. D. 1892.

I-IENRY KERN.

Witnesses:

I-IENRY CHADBOURN, CoRA J. CHADBOURN. 

